U.S. Military

U.S. Military

Case Study #1

F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Modular Low Power Radio Frequency (MLPRF) Line Replaceable Unit (LRU)

  • One of the poorest performing LRUs on the F-16
  • Cracked ribbon cable solder joints
  • Massive re-soldering program implemented
  • Shotgun approach to maintenance
  • No means or equipment to detect intermittence

Results from Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System™ (IFDIS™) testing:

  • 400 MLPRF LRU chassis IFDIS tested:
  • 147 were considered “un-repairable” completely out of service
  • 33 had been in the repair depot for over one year
  • 9 had been in the repair depot for over three years
  • 60% had one or more intermittent fault
    • All of these defects were missed by conventional depot Automated Test Equipment (ATE)Cost of a replacement MLPRF LRU chassis is $307,000 each
  • Over $39 million worth of flight hardware recovered to date
  • Tripled Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) – cost savings of $11 million
  • Reduction in Total Ownership Cost (RTOC) of $50 million achieved on one F-16 LRU chassis family
  • Total Government investment $2.2 million – 22 times ROI to date
F-16 Joint Testing Project with the United States Air Force
F-16 Joint Testing Project with the United States Air Force
Case Study #2

F/A-18 Generator Convertor Unit (GCU) Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)

  • Second highest degrader in the NAVAIR inventory
  • High No Fault Found (NFF) rate
  • High Mission Incapable (MICAP) rate
  • No means or equipment to detect intermittence or reduce NFF

Results from IFDIS testing:

  • All GCUs tested were previously considered Ready for Install (RFI) after comprehensive testing by the repair depot
  • 80% of the GCUs tested had one or more intermittent circuit that went undetected using conventional ATE
Case Study #3

EA-6B AN/AIC-45, Intercommunication System, Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)

  • High No Fault Found (NFF) rate
  • High Mission Incapable (MICAP) rate
  • No means or equipment capable of detecting intermittent / NFF

Results from IFDIS testing:

  • 71% of the AIC-45s tested had one or more intermittent circuit that went undetected using conventional ATE

Case Study #4

F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Antenna Azimuth Elevation (AZ/EL) Shop Replaceable Unit (SRU)

  • Grounding F-16s
  • Current testing methods and equipment unable to identify defects
  • Non-reparable item
  • Purchase price $1,600.00each
  • IFDIS testing required for GO / NO GO testing

Results from IFDIS testing:

  • 95 AZ/EL SRU ribbon cables IFDIS tested:
  • 76% tested bad and given a NO/GO for use on F-16 aircraft
  • IFDIS is effectively identifying good and bad cables so that good cables are not unnecessarily discarded, and bad cables are not put into F-16 aircraft.
  • IFDIS testing of AZ/EL ribbon cables saved the U.S. Air Force over $35,000.00 in just six weeks

Case Study #5

F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar System Antenna

  • High MICAP rates
  • Conventional ATE unable to diagnose intermittent / NFF issues, improve reliability or lower MICAP rates
  • IFDIS testing quickly identified electronic defects and intermittent faults